After long wait, group of 28 tours memorable sites of Italy, Greece
After preparing for this trip since 2019, it finally happened! From June 8-21, a group of 28 was finally able to tour Italy and Greece.
Initially planned for June of 2020, COVID-19 postponed the trip abroad. The tour group was made up of a true mix of the community with half of them being students and the other half parents and adults. Diann Terpstra served as the group leader and assistants included Coty McGuire and Betsy Jo Kack. Most of the travelers were Brandon Valley residents, who were joined by others from Sioux Falls, Brookings and Marshall, Minn.
The tour, “Adriatic Odyssey” began in Rome, Italy. The group took in amazing ancient history sites such as the Pantheon, the Forum and the Colosseum. They also walked the beautiful streets of Florence and saw the Cathedral and Brunelleschi’s Dome.
The group’s next stop was the port city of Ancona, where they enjoyed lunch before boarding an overnight ferry to travel to Greece.
One of the highlights was climbing the Meteora Monasteries. These monasteries were built atop the highest cliffs and at one point were only reachable by a ne. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, the next day the tour group visited Delphi, the site of the Oracle, which was just as beautiful, nestled in the mountains.
Next on the tour calendar was Athens, and the Acropolis, the home of the Parthenon and the Olympic Stadium. One of the group’s favorite moments was their evening Greek outing that included food, music and dancing.
The final four days of the tour was spent on the heavenly Island of Crete, where they arrived by plane. Their first destination was Heraklion, where the group spent time on the beach and saw the Palace of Knossos, which dates back to 7,000 B.C.
They next worked their way East to Agio Nikolaos to visit Spinalonga Island on a gorgeous day along the water. The group’s final stay on the tour was in Chania, where they enjoyed beach time and one of the most beautiful ports in the world.
“It was truly a trip with a lifetime of memories,” Terpstra summed up.
